The Trap for a Comeback Is Set

With the principal out of the way, the next step was a higher-level game of chess. Zhao An didn’t need to do much. He only needed to exploit everyone’s psychology, seize their weaknesses, and make them work for him. At the same time, he had to create the impression that he had powerful backing, that he was rich, and that his influence reached everywhere. That was enough.

As for the truth? Who would know that he was really just a broke nobody?

He spent the entire afternoon pretending to do interviews, carrying his student ID around and talking to people everywhere. In the end, he only needed five simple questions to grasp exactly what was on their minds.

By now, Zhao An had already completed a third of his layout. All that was left was to sit back and enjoy the results. Everything was under his control.

When he opened his phone, there was still a text from Principal Du inviting him to dinner. He hadn’t answered the call. After realizing Zhao An was someone with major backing, and after a superior had called to ask about Zhao An, Principal Du’s tone had turned eager, with a trace of fear mixed in. That had made Du nervous. He had no idea such a big shot was hiding in his school.

There were plenty of big shots at First Middle School, but those second-generation rich kids were all obedient and well-behaved. None of them seemed anything like Zhao An, whose back seemed to be supported by some enormous power.

Maybe he was a family heir out here for training? That thought flashed through Principal Du’s mind. It wasn’t impossible. In fact, it was very likely.

Zhao An was checking the stock market. The shares he had sold had already gone through, and 200,000 yuan had landed in his account!

Staring at the string of zeroes, Zhao An felt his blood heat up. In both of his lifetimes, he had never seen that much money before. Now that he had the system, money was nothing more than a number to him.

Even though he had expected this, when he truly saw that line of digits, his heartbeat still sped up again and again. That was too much money! "One day, I’ll take everything I want. And everything I can’t get, I’ll take back by force!"

If it hadn’t been for what happened with Aunt Xia, Zhao An would probably have gone to cash out and find a few prostitutes in the red-light district to blow off steam, or gone to a club to play with some young models.

But Zhao An’s mindset had changed now. If he was going to play, he’d go for pretty class beauties or campus goddesses, or for mature, sexy married women. Prostitutes? He didn’t even bother looking at them.

A call came in from his friend Zhang Chang.

"Hello, bro. Got any plans tonight?"

"No. What’s up?" Zhao An was going out later anyway. He had some lowlife trash to deal with. With his strengthened body and fighting skills, he could take ten men by himself, even a hundred.

"Hey, my mom’s recording a show and my dad’s working overtime, so I’m coming to your place to study. I already told my mom," Zhang Chang said with a laugh. He was still pretty afraid of his parents, and what could second-year high school rich brats really do anyway?

"I’ll tell Aunt Xia. Just make sure you cover for me when the time comes. I’m going out to handle something tonight. Other people’s business," Zhao An replied calmly.

"Then no problem. I’m heading to the Internet cafe. Oh, right, if you finish your homework, remember to let me copy it," Zhang Chang said with a grin. Being able to play games was the happiest thing of all.

Zhao An looked at the lottery ticket in his hand. Tomorrow was the drawing, and by then he’d be a rich man with more than 400 million yuan to his name! More than 400 million, all cash, with not a trace of fluff. Whether he kept or invested in industry, he was guaranteed to make money.

Just thinking about it made his mind start spinning. Having money was great, but right now he was still missing someone to warm his bed. At the very least, he needed to find himself a maid to take care of things!

Rose Bar was a notorious hotbed of chaos, and nobody liked sticking their nose into business here.

With a mask on, Zhao An made his way to the fifth floor. After knocking out the two bodyguards at the door, he shoved it open. Inside the office, he saw a burly man with a tiger-backed, bear-waisted build, holding an alluring prostitute in his arms and kissing her. It looked like they were just about to get down to business.

"Who the fuck are you?!" Bao Xiong roared in fury.

"Get lost!" Zhao An snapped back, then chopped the woman unconscious with a knife-hand strike.

Bao Xiong quickly grabbed his pistol and aimed it at Zhao An. He thought someone had come to deal with him.

Zhao An rushed forward, landed a knife-hand strike on Bao Xiong’s wrist, then punched him to the floor.

His gloved right hand took the other man’s pistol. Seeing the suppressor still attached, Zhao An let out a vicious grin and fired five shots.

Those five shots almost scared Bao Xiong pissless. "Don’t! I don’t know, I really don’t know who did it!"

"Ding. You have obtained mastery in firearms. Using pistols will increase your accuracy, and you can hit targets at maximum effective range!"

That was neither here nor there for Zhao An. Maybe it would come in handy someday, but not yet.

"What’s your name?" Zhao An said in a hoarse voice.

Bao Xiong was a little dumbfounded. He thought, "You fucking don’t even know who I am, and you still came after me?" But out loud, he obediently said, "My name is Bao Xiong."

"Age?"

"Thirty-three."

"Married or not?"

"No."

"Do you have athlete’s foot?"

Bao Xiong was getting annoyed now, but he could only answer, "No."

After casually asking five questions, Zhao An had completely seen through Bao Xiong’s inner world.

It turned out Bao Xiong was a notorious man, the detention center was basically his home, and he had been in and out so many times that nobody even knew how many records he had.

"Heh. March 10, June 3, July 18, August 28. None of those four incidents were discovered by anyone else, and you think that makes you proud, huh?" Zhao An said with a cold laugh, naming the four dates. Those four dates were Bao Xiong’s murder cases.

Bao Xiong was utterly terrified. "Who the hell are you?"

"Heh. You don’t need to know. All you need to know is this: obey me, and I guarantee you’ll be fine. If you dare disobey me, then what you’ve done is enough to get you a bullet to the head. I’ll contact you by phone. You’d better keep your head on straight," Zhao An said with a sneer.

An hour later, Bao Xiong had been talked down until he had no fight left in him. He was now terrified of Zhao An beyond measure. He had no idea who the other man was, yet that man seemed to know exactly when he went to the toilet. Such horrifying insight made his scalp crawl.